Orchid CEO to Pocket $192K Bonus on April 29

NEW YORK, April 5 (GenomeWeb News) - Orchid Biosciences CEO Paul Kelly will receive a $192,500 bonus on April 29, the company said today in an SEC filing.

News of the bonus, which is for 2004, comes after Orchid recently reported strong growth in fourth-quarter sales. As GenomeWeb News reported last month, Orchid BioSciences recorded a 29-percent increase in fourth-quarter revenues, the company said today.

The Princeton, NJ-firm said total revenues for the three-month period ended Dec. 31, 2004, increased to $17.6 million from $13.7 million for the year ago period. Orchid said the increase came from a jump in forensics testing from its new private human identification and family-relationship testing services.

R&D spending for the quarter increased to $335,00 from $209,000 year over year, Orchid said.

Orchid also said it posted a net income of $668,000, or $.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $7.3 million, or $.46, in the fourth quarter of 2003.

The company reported cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $30.5 million on hand as of Dec. 31.